London super-heavyweight contender Anthony Joshua insists even an Olympic gold medal will not necessarily hasten his departure into the professional ranks after the Games.

The Finchley 22-year-old has shrugged off a series of offers from top promoters since rising to prominence when he came within one point of being crowned world amateur champion in Baku last year.

And the scramble for his future services will go into overdrive if he lives up to his pre-Games billing as one of the favourites to win a gold medal in an exceptionally competitive +91kg division.

Audley Harrison and Amir Khan are the most recent Britons to turn over in the glow of their Olympic medal wins, but while Joshua is in high demand he claims it is far from a foregone conclusion he will leave the amateur code.

Joshua said: "I've got two more Olympic cycles in me and there's world and European titles to win, so I've got an exciting career on both sides. I'd love to get a gold at the worlds.

"I don't want to leave anything with regrets. I want to achieve what I set out to achieve. After the Games I will sit and reflect on where I want to go. At the moment I just know there are great things to come either way."

Joshua went from an untested prospect into a major star in an instant during his campaign in Baku, when he defeated reigning world and Olympic champion Roberto Cammarelle of Italy in the quarter-finals.

A controversial 22-21 final loss to Azeri Magomedrasul Medzhidov has clearly focused Joshua on coming through arguably the toughest of Olympic divisions and gaining revenge on the biggest occasion of all.

"I never expected to be here," added Joshua.

"When I started boxing at the age of 18 I didn't even know there was Olympic boxing. When I got my first taste of amateur boxing I thought, 'I like this'.

"I know that once you've made the decision to take off your amateur vest and head into the professional realm, there's no going back.

"There's no more Olympics or World Championships - the pros are your last shot at it, so it's a big decision."

[QUOTE]Dillians amateur record - Dillians first fight was the more experienced and now Olympic Gold medal prospect Anthony Joshua Dillian knocked Anthony down and won comfortably on points. He had another 6 fights as amateur stoppin 5 including putting one in a coma (recovered) in Sweden. After t...

He's young so he's got time but not enough to stay for the next Olympics.
Would like to see him turn professional after the games, hopefully a sucessful one, going under the tutelage of a top trainer. He's relatively new to the amateur scene and has become a success quick, he's still learning ...